Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Students at the prestigious (at least hard to get in) Tokyo University have formed a group called "Project to Think About 3.11 Debris". The group held a public symposium on March 28 on the Tokyo University Komaba campus, co-sponsored by Jiji Tsushin and others with "special support" from the Ministry of the Environment.

Their message: More information disclosure from the national government should help; there is a "silent majority" who would gladly accept disaster debris.

"The Project to Think about 3.11 Debris", where Tokyo University students discuss the issue of disaster debris from the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami, issued its proposals to the national government to further disclose information to dispel citizens' fears of radiation contamination. The Project is co-sponsored by Jiji Tsushin and others, with the special support from the Ministry of the Environment. The proposals will be submitted to the Ministry of the Environment shortly.

The Project pointed out that it was the delay in disclosing information by the government after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident that has hindered the understanding by the citizens of the safety of the debris. It requested that the government strengthen the effort to disclose information so that citizens could determine the danger of radiation calmly [in a scientific way] and break a vicious cycle. The group suggested the government disclose the decision process when they had decided on the safety standard for the debris (8,000 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium).

The group also told the audience that a construction of a rugby field was being planned in Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture using the debris, and suggested the government create a database of the projects at local municipalities in the disaster-affected areas. It also criticized that the debris disposal and rebuilding of cities and towns were being considered separately.

Further, as to the disaster debris acceptance, the group said only the opponents were getting the air time, but "the disaster victims are reserved, and they don't complain or demand". In reality, there was a "Silent Majority" who wouldn't mind accepting the debris, the group said, and emphasized the need for more dialogues.

If this seems contrived to you (I don't see why it shouldn't), it's because it is, contrived. This "Project to Think about 3.11 Debris" seems to have been organized by a joint educational venture between Tokyo University and Hakuhodo called "brand design studio". Hakuhodo is Japan's one of the two largest ad and PR agencies who has been getting a lot of jobs from the government ever since March 11, 2011 to spin the government policies and appropriately guide the general public.

This entity is the "others" in the Jiji article above, who co-sponsored the event on March 28.

If the national government thinks Tokyo University, Hakuhodo (or Dentsu for that matter), and the Ministry of the Environment exude honesty and truthfulness after one year of misinformation, and the citizens are willing to fall for this, there will be not much I can say.

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comments:

Another proof that quality of Japanese higher education and university students lag behind the international peers.

University of Tokyo is now full of students who excel in test taking but have no critical thinking skills (cleary no scientific analytic skills), it is also full of professors who are good at writing nice sounding papers that have no substance, often not even original data. I see it over and over again in international conferences.

Have the Tokyo University accept and burn all the disaster debris and have these students sprinkle the ashes around the campus, on the university cafeteria foods -- because they are safe, according to them.

Did anyone at this propaganda session point out that the government's cavalier attitude toward evacuations, food safety, victim compensation, and decontamination efforts have done MUCH MORE DAMAGE to the government's limited credibility than their initial failure to communicate.

It is their rush to declare "safety" when the evidence is still out (or down right contradictory) that makes so many intelligent people skeptical about this debris disposal scheme.

How to solve this problem - take a conservative approach and DON'T SPREAD THE DEBRIS AROUND JAPAN!

What idiots.

Recruiters - watch those Todai resumes. Be sure to interview any candidate that participated in this session. Interview would be a great opportunity to explain to them why they aren't going to get the jobs you have on offer. Simply, sociopaths need not apply....

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

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